Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

I always used to wonder how people find their passion and enjoy their lives to the fullest. Restive to find answers, I started scoping out to different things with a hope to hit the passion jackpot.

Bird photography made me happy, and obviously the first rule of 'finding passion' is to do what makes you feel happy.

Here I was, a new birder kid on the block, naïve in this world of birds, planning a trip to click this little wonder, in a hide near Pune with new birder friends. Journey started from searching what the acronym ODKF, to what a hide means. Forget about using a tripod and driving down before dawn to click one single bird, everything was a new ripple to my brain. The logically me saw so many unknowns here, a little anxious of the experience I was about to have, obviously prompting me to do a little homework quietly.

On the D-day, we reached destination and after a small hike of about 30 mins we reach the hide. It was a close enclosure with a wooden plank to sit on, our place for next 5 hours. We setup the camera; I struggled a little with the tripod, but managed eventually. And the wait started, for the bird to appear. The hide oversaw an ODKF nest where apparently the eggs had hatched just about a week ago. The experienced lot with me started discussing about its frequency, the kills it would bring, what angle would be the best, the background and a plethora of overwhelming jargon. In almost all of my professional situations like these, I would have nipped my skill in a bud, yet I surprised myself that day all free from that fear of failure. A sense of freedom, a sense where I was not competing, proving nothing, judgement free and most importantly happy.

In just 10 minutes of us settling down, this splendid colour bomb came flying by to perch on the branch near the nest, with a small prey in the beak. An AHA moment indeed! It surveyed, nodded its head and rushed to the nest, and out of it at a bullet's speed.

As the rain pattered, the sun lit the habitat just to soon hide away. Not to mention camera setting changing with the light conditions every 15 minutes, the ODKF pair had other plans for us. In a matter of 5 hours they took turns and visited the nest 22 times, each time with a kill in the beak. I went on to capture 18 out of these 22 trips.

The nest was on a mud bed near a flowing stream, that had crabs all around. The pair never hunted for the crabs near the nest, flying away far from the nest to hunt, giving a call to announce their arrival, perching on the branch near the nest, vigilantly looking around and entering the nest with the kill. All quiet and in the blink of an eye it flew out of the nest. A small colour ball whizzing past us.

On the hike back it was raining hard and the path had turned to small streams. I was quiet within, soaking in deep the meditative experience I had.

At the end of the day there was no sign of fatigue even after 250+ kms driving to & fro, the walk in the clouds, drizzle in dense jungle, listening to the water streams, learning from fellow photographers, adapting to changing conditions; with lots of patience and focus.

The only feeling that I still associate with this experience is that of gratitude, for I got the opportunity to experience this wonder couple take turns to feed their young ones.

Some experiences take you closer to the goal on the journey of finding your passion. This, for me, is one of those milestones.